Although I recently wrote a summary of restaurants I tried in Key West, I had to dedicate a post solely to my favorite dining spot in the Conch Republic.
For my 31st birthday I decided to push the boat out literally and figuratively by having dinner at Latitudes, a fine dining restaurant on a private island that requires a five-minute boat ride from Key West to reach the front door.
The person I interviewed in the Sunshine State (more on him in a week or two) recommended I try the restaurant if I wanted to experience something truly special for my birthday. What a wise suggestion. Latitudes did not disappoint by any measure, with friendly, welcoming staff serving up excellent food.
As a glance over the menu will prove there are numerous mouthwatering dishes on offer, with a heavy focus on fish that’s to be expected given that fresh catches are swimming inches away from the restaurant’s waterfront seating area.
That glance will also show that Latitudes is somewhat on the pricy side. I was traveling in Florida with my housemate and had hoped I could pull the birthday card on him to cover my tab that night. Alas, he’d already been incredibly kind paying for other things on the trip so my bruised and battered credit card was in for another night of misery.
The fiscal pain was well worth it.
I started with a lettuce wedge salad served with crumbled pieces of Gorgonzola cheese, Florida citrus segments, toasted almonds, fresh melon and papaya ranch dressing. Normally I’m not a huge fan of wedge salad because a server will just dump a huge block of cold, tasteless lettuce on my plate and leave me to it. This salad was a huge exception to the rule, every bite offering up a different taste but with the salty kick of Gorgonzola and the smoothness of the ranch dressing a consistent background.
For my main course I wanted to try the tenderloin, which comes with roasted shallot truffle butter, Swiss chard, Yukon puree, roasted wild mushrooms and balsamic demi-glace. One problem: our engaging waitress said they were all out of the tenderloin. Curse you meat-eating tourists!
Then the waitress offered to serve up a Filet Mignon with the preparation that comes with the tenderloin. I approved. Wonderful entree, the meat perfectly cooked and the richness of the garnish not overpowering but so pleasingly buttery and filling that I feel like I was lucky to avoid gout later that night.
To finish, the housemate and I split a trio of Key lime desserts: a parfait, a pie and a sorbet. All of them had that strong, tart lime flavor and were universally delicious, but the highest marks go to the soft and creamy parfait.
Eating this well is why I need my gym membership.